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Portrait Lighting

Portrait Lighting

There is a misconception in photography that you always need to have the sun behind you when shooting. I think this came from the early days of box brownies etc that had no flash or exposure compensation.

The reason it was generally stated this way was that all camera meters are calibrated to expose what is in the view finder at a set value (probably 18% grey). When you point the camera at a light source such as the sun or a bright window, the meter sees a lot of light and automatically shuts down the aperture resulting in dark photo. That's why all your selfies never work when the sun is behind you. If you take a lot of selfies you won't be reading this anyway!

 So, if you have the major light source behind you, a good exposure results and you'll probably get a nice ph...

Southern Brown Banicoot

Southern Brown Banicoot

Some portraits of a different kind last week. A great little job for Murdoch University photographing Bandicoots at the South Street campus. Conservation staff and students were catching and measuring Quendas and I went along to document the process and hopefully get some good shots. Gorgeous little creatures, with most of them being females with babies in the pouch. A very impressive amount of bandicoots living on campus. It's one aspect of Murdoch that makes it a special university. Students have access to a diverse range of flora and fauna right on their doorstep.

The Quendas were all very nervous and quick as they had just been measured and tagged so getting a shot in the wild was a little difficult.

There are more photos are availa...

Autumn Photography

Autumn Photography

Autumn is one of the best times of the year for taking photographs. The light is softer because the sun angle is lower. Even during the middle of the day which is the worst time to shoot, the lower sun is much better.

For me, when I'm doing family portraits, I can shoot later in the morning or earlier in the afternoon. This helps with the flexibility with clients. In Summer, the mornings are out because the best photographic light is at about 5.30am. You don't want to be asking your customers to get up that early!

Also the temperature is much cooler which is good for your client's comfort (and your own) as well as producing a better result in your images with a more natural skin-tone and less perspiration. Lastly, the wind is much less so...

One of my favourite photographers is Richard Avedon. From New York, he really made his mark in the 70's and 80's. He was a pioneer of the fashion industry in the late 1940's his work was published in magazines such as Life, Look, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar which he shot work for 20 years.

My preferred work is his minim...

Hi All I've decided to enter the Fremantle Portrait Prize what have a to lose? Rather exciting I think! I have a few people lined up for something a bit out there, Looking forward to it. If you want to have a look at the website and see some of the previous winners. Check it out.

Silver Award at WAPPAs

Silver Award at WAPPAs

Hi All I was very happy to have picked up a couple of Silver Awards at the recent Western Australian Professional Photographic Awards. One award which was in the family section, is of Skye & AJ in a studio shoot that  we recently shot. They are a lovely couple who were very relaxed and easy to work with. I'm looking forward to doing their wedding in November. The next awards are the nationals in September so I'm looking for some other subjects to use for entries!

Well it’s here again! Christmas, in essence a fun time for most people. Family gatherings are a regular occurrence and  that gives us a great opportunity to take some photos. So here are a few pointers.

  1. Plan ahead. Make sure that you are ready. If you spend time gathering people together make sure yo...

Having just shot a couple of beach weddings, I thought I would make a few suggestions, here are some

  1. Ceremony time. You want to have the sun angle low, so early morning or late afternoon is the go. The shadows in the middle of the day, under the eyes, nose and chin are not very flattering and the contrast is very high which...